Summary: 18 views at a „industrialised, colonised Solar System during a time when starflight is yet to emerge, and imagines life in the hottest places close to our star, and in the coldest, most distant corners of our home.“ It is a setting which was defined previously, most recently in novel form with the great 2312 from Kim Stanley Robinson. The terrific lineup of authors include names like Bruce Sterling, Elizabeth Bear, Alastair Reynolds, or James S.A. Corey. It is Strahan’s second anthology installation of what he calls „Fourth Generation of SF“ which started with Engineering of Infinity (2010) and was carried on with Reach for Infinity (2014). All of the stories feel plausible and are different.

I seldom find anthologies containing no bad story at all. I liked nearly all of the stories, some were great. That deserves 5 stars.

My favourite ★★★★★ stories were

The Girl-Thing Who Went Out For Sushi by Pat Cadigan

Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh by John Barnes

The Peak of Eternal Light by Bruce Sterling

no story with ☆ or ★

Contents:

★★★★★ • “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out For Sushi” • novelette by Pat Cadigan • review

★★★ • “The Deeps of the Sky” • short story by Elizabeth Bear • alien mining a gas planet’s troposphere for a dowry • review